Many New York residents rely on prescriptions and medications to regulate common ailments or as part of a medical treatment plan. Whether the medication is dispensed in the hospital or through a pharmacy, it’s important to make sure that the correct medicine and dosage reach the patient.
Far too often, however, medication mistakes occur. Medication errors fit many different categories, including incorrect dosages, continuing a prescription longer than necessary and dispensing the wrong prescription.
Patients and healthcare providers do not always report prescription errors. The Obama administration would like to change this and get medical consumers to use a new reporting system to inform the federal government of the mistakes or unsafe practices that they notice.
That information would, in turn, be passed along to healthcare providers. With this information in hand, the providers could learn from the mistakes and improve the process for ordering and administering medication.
The premise of the proposal is that consumers witness medical mistakes and drug errors and that their information could be invaluable in preventing future harm. The perspective of patients, combined with the standard medical record, will give healthcare providers a more comprehensive view of the treatment received.
The system would allow consumers to place their reports online or through a telephone interview. Patients who are actually injured as the result of medical negligence will still have the option to bring a lawsuit against the responsible party, in addition to the consumer report. A medical malpractice claim may allow in injured patients to recover money for any damages incurred as result of the medication error or medical mistake.
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Medication Errors: Reporting System Badly Needed
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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